DARPA Wants to Test Satellite Repair Droids in Orbit

This is pretty cool, ATS. It's been a while since I posted any Space related topics but this post puts me back in the action. This is a Space issue and it's a Technological issue so I hope this is in the right forum. Anyway, Darpa is proposing Satellite Repair Droids for autonomous repair of Satellites in orbit.

"The ability to safely and cooperatively interact with satellites in GEO [geostationary orbit] would immediately revolutionize military and commercial space operations alike, lowering satellite
construction and deployment costs and improving satellite lifespan, resilience and reliability," DARPA officials wrote in a statement.

DARPA has put out a request for information looking for "technical, security and business insights" to make this service possible.

The agency is seeking technical information on a possible "robotic servicer" that would make use of previously developed DARPA space robotics.

Ideally, the robot would be able to fix mechanical problems like antenna issues, or inspect spacecraft that had operational problems, providing more information to controllers on Earth. The servicer might even be able to move satellites into other orbits.

Responses to the request for information are due by Nov. 3.

This is cool is it not, ATS? For some reason I keep thinking of the Buzz-Droids in the opening Space battle scene of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
www.youtube.com...

; which btw is the coolest Space battle scene ever! Anyway, what does ATS think about what Darpa is doing...?

www.space.com...

Why not just contract that job out to the Russians, or the Chinese, or India, or to Japan,,,,
...or the UFO ETs? What the heck are we doing with those fabulous triangles anyway other than "show and tell" performances?

I would imagine it would be like those submarines with diving bells. The repair system would move into orbit above the satellite to be repaired, then guide itself around the satellite. Clamps would then lock the two into place. Being a confined space would prevent any stray fragments from going into space and causing further damage, and robot arms could move around on guide rails using remote control.

originally posted by: Aliensun
Why not just contract that job out to the Russians, or the Chinese, or India, or to Japan,,,,
...or the UFO ETs? What the heck are we doing with those fabulous triangles anyway other than "show and tell" performances?

Why would we contract it out? And those triangles don't exist. Might as well ask flying rainbow colored unicorns to do it.

originally posted by: lostbook
Anyway, Darpa is proposing Satellite Repair Droids for autonomous repair of Satellites in orbit.

DARPA has put out a request for information looking for "technical, security and business insights" to make this service possible.

...The servicer might even be able to move satellites into other orbits.

Responses to the request for information are due by Nov. 3.

(big grin) So, here we are almost exactly five years down the road from the first announcements they wanted this and they're starting to declass this? That's about right...

me on another forum posting as Erewhon:

There are lots of 'rumors' of a classified semi-offshoot of DART that was intended to perform "adversarial maintenance" on other countries' black satellites. Mainly by grabbing them and performing a re-entry burn, but some were supposed to just fire a few rounds through their target.

Back-room rumor had it that we grabbed a British spy sat and waved to the camera, causing a poop-tossing incident back in 2005 or so

the thread...

Way back when, there were any number of unmentionable programs with an end goal to field a system that could physically nab other countries' satellite assets and tap into, break, de-orbit or co-opt them. And others to repair our satellites, or our those of our allies. The white-world face of this was DART. I think the first time I mentioned this anywhere was maybe 2009.

It was going a long time before you ever saw DART hit the launchpad, though, and we had a first demo of it to our allies in maybe 2005. It's come a long way in nine years.

"Move satellites into other orbits" is community-speak for trashing them by either attaching a de-orbit loop or a small limpet booster. Or just grabbing on and retro-firing as a sort of suicide de-orbiter.